CLASS MAMMALS: ORDER CARNIVORA. 33 



Fig. 32. 



Fig. 33. 



Fells tigris, Tiger. 



The Tiger, being destitute of a mane and tail-tuft, lacks 

 the noble bearing of the lion, but is beautifully decorated 

 with black stripes upon a ground of reddish-yellow fur, tend- 

 ing to white beneath. Its ferocity, especially that of the 

 dreaded " man-eater," is fearful, while its strength enables it 

 to carry off a buffalo thrown over its shoulder. Inhabiting 

 Southern Asia, its home is in the long jungle-grass, with the 

 coloring of which its stripes so exactly assimilate that it is 

 impossible for unpracticed eyes to discern it at even a short 

 distance. This adapta- 

 tion of the color of an 

 animal to that of sur- 

 rounding objects in its 

 native wilds is termed 

 mimicry, and is one of 

 the most wonderful 

 provisions of Nature. 



The Puma* inhabits 

 North and South Amer- 

 ica. Its uniform dun 

 color gives a mimicry Fe - is conc ^^ Pu ma . 



* In different parts of the continent the puma im styled the "painter," the "pan- 

 ther," the " cougar," and even the " catamount," though there is no panther in 

 America, and the true catamount is the wild cat of Europe. 



